


Link is a Huge Dummy

by Saltiest fker in Hyrule (MeanQueen)



Series: Saving the Day [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Link realizes he has romantic feelings instead of just being thirsty, M/M, Sidon completely misinterprets what blushing is about, Some Angst but also a lot of Fluff, They go on a kinda-date, Zora Courtship troubles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 00:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10425099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeanQueen/pseuds/Saltiest%20fker%20in%20Hyrule
Summary: In which Link spends a lot of time with Sidon, and a lot of things cause him to form a crush:Trying to catch a mysterious killer monster together? Perhaps.Being a gorgeous handsome kind enthusiastic Zora prince? A BIG probably.





	

 

        The wind picked up as Link rode his newly tamed steed toward the Zora Domain.

 

        He glanced up at the sky. Overcast again. Well, even if it rained, at least now he knew what Zoras looked like. _I won’t be slashing any handsome Zora princes with my sword this time, that’s for sure._

 

        A week and a half into his investigation of the monster plaguing the Zora Domain, Link had received an urgent letter. It had contained a plea for help from a village he’d already rescued, claiming that a group of raiders had taken them hostage and could hurt them at any moment. Even though he considered the Zora’s plight to be especially demanding of his attention--and not just because the Prince was so nice and friendly with Link so he wanted to make him feel safe and not have to worry about his people--he couldn’t ignore someone in immediate danger.

 

        So he’d left to save that town, eliminated the threat, and was finally on his return trip.

 

        A happy smile tugged the corners of Link’s mouth as he recalled the last thing Sidon had said to him before he left. _“Hurry back, Link. I’ll keep investigating while you’re gone. And also, please be safe. I- I consider you a true friend at this point. One I can’t wait to spend more time with, once this threat is taken care of.”_ And then Sidon had presented Link with a bit too many greater-healing potions and lightning arrows to carry so he’d had no choice but to decline, laughing the whole time at Sidon’s thoughtful gesture but awkward presentation.

 

        Link really hadn’t been expecting this kind of friendly treatment from the Zora Prince. Or anyone, really!

 

        Whenever Sidon wasn’t busy with his princely duties, like negotiating with the leaders of other communities, or training his guards, or even attending those awkward courting sessions Link knew he hated so much, Sidon would drop by wherever Link was and sit and talk. The amount of time they spent with each other every day got longer and longer, and they both got more and more comfortable with each other. Sidon had even begun to drop that regal presentation around Link and was comfortable being more himself… which wasn’t very different at all, but Link could now tell the difference between Sidon being the prince and Sidon being Sidon. For one, his range of facial expressions was bigger and he was a lot more excitable! But he was also nosier. He’d turn the conversation around on Link, laying with his arms crossed under his chin and say with a sharp-toothed grin, _“So quiet! Come now, I know you’re thinking more than you say aloud.”_

 

 _Yeah, well,  it’s mostly dirty things so consider yourself spared,_ Link had thought in response but had shrugged at the time.

 

        Link was getting closer to the Zora domain now. When he reached the cliffside path he’d nearly slipped twice on the last time he descended, he gasped in delight. There Sidon was! He was sitting at the top of the tower, leaning back on his arms and swinging his short-in-proportion legs over the edge and staring out at the water.

 

        That’s a very pretty picture there, Link hummed and pulled up his sheikah slate to take a picture. It clicked right as Sidon looked over in Link’s direction.

 

        “Ah, Link, hello!” The prince stood up quickly and even jumped once to wave his big arms. Excitable boy. Perfect boy. Fish boy.

 

        Link waved back, sheikah slate in hand.

 

        They met up again below the tower, and Sidon cooed and gushed over the horse. He gently touched her ears and mane at first, although once Link told him it was fine, he ended up nuzzling her face with his. The praise he gave the animal was receiving was even more fervent than the praise he often gave Link! He’d have thought that was impossible before now!

 

        Once he was all done gushing over his horse, Sidon patted Link’s head too, and tried to resist laughing about how even on a horse Link was still _sooo_ much shorter than him. Link waved away any attempts Sidon tried to make at convincing Link that it was because he found his height endearing.

 

        “I’m beginning to think your height is feeding into your ego,” Link scoffed.

 

        “It might be,” Sidon jokingly admitted. “Come, you must be tired after your journey. Tell me about it!”

 

        “Actually, I’m well rested and ready to try catch the monster. For real this time.”

 

        Sidon looked surprised. “Truly?” At Link’s determined nod, Sidon touched his jaw with his fingertips and looked to the side. Probably remembering the same things Link was…

 

        A day before the urgent letter had come, Link had his first encounter.

 

        He, Sidon, and a few of the Zora guards had set up a post to keep watch for the monster, he saw it for the first time. Or, for the second time really: turns out, he had seen it once before! The monster seemed to have clear skin, not unlike a jellyfish. It made spotting it very hard in the water. It was that very same creature he had spotted for the first time right after meeting Sidon that rainy day, the one he had tuned Sidon out for to stare at for a moment.

 

        When they’d spotted it, Link had quickly put on the Zora charms King Dorephan had crafted specifically for him and jumped into the water, but by the time he submerged the creature had vanished! And according to the Zoras they’d been interviewing, this happened often. Whenever the monster knew someone was watching it, it disappeared.

 

 _At least that means probably means it isn’t that strong if it doesn't want to stay and fight,_ Link had reasoned.

 

        But now Link was very determined. His re-rescue of the village he just came from had fueled him and he was ready.

 

        “Alright, I have a better plan this time then,” Sidon finally said, and lead Link on his new horse along after him.

 

* * *

 

 

 _A dummy? This was Sidon’s Idea?_ Link shook his head and rolled his eyes.

 

        It was the dead of night and the moon was shining high above them. He, the prince, and some guards were hidden behind some rocks just off the sandy beach. There was a dummy--albeit a pretty convincing one of a Zora--positioned a few feet into the waves lapping at the beach. Every so often the waves rocked it, so Link worried it might fall over.

 

        The guards looked a bit impatient. And that was their right; they’d been here for almost an hour and it was beginning to get really cold. But the prince was staring at the dummy with concentration, waiting for something clear to rise up out of the water and grab it. And yeah, Link was a bit distracted, usually looking at the handsome prince instead of the dummy, but could anyone blame him really?

 

        In Link’s opinion, there weren’t many better ways to spend an hour than in the presence of someone he find attractive...

 

        “My prince, this is a waste of time,” one of the guards sighed. “The moon is now directly overhead and nothing.”

 

        “Perhaps the monster can tell the difference between a real Zora and a fake one?” another suggested, an older blue-backed zora woman with a scar across her face. Her words caught Sidon’s attention and he looked directly at her as if she’d pointed out a very obvious mole on his face he never knew he had.

 

        “That. Is. A. _VERY_. Good POINT, my dear guard!” Sidon whisper-bellowed, slapping the palm of his hand to his forehead dramatically. “A genius among us! Ah, alright how about..” He stepped carefully over the rocks and suddenly every guard grabbed him, yanked him back down and pinned him to the sand underneath them.

 

        “Not gonna happen!” was the jist of what they all yelled at the same time but some with more colorful language than others.

 

        One of them, who was pinning him down by the left leg, volunteered instead, “I will do it.”

 

        While nobody leaped to stop this guard, the others still all shouted at him denying approval of this plan. Link even contributed this time by passionately shaking his head. No, nobody was going to go out there and act as bait. _What a stupid idea. Sorry Prince Sidon but you’re full of bad ideas today._

 

        There was a little bit of a spat, but in the end they all decided that it was time to call it quits. They’d have to figure out something better.

 

* * *

 

 

        More days passed. More attempts failed. They never caught a glimpse of the monster in any of their stakeouts, no matter what they tried, although they didn’t try using a real Zora as bait. Of course, Link was still not sold to that idea anyways. Weak monster or not, he’d never needed to use a person as bait before and was set on keeping it that way.

 

         Right now he was trotting up the stairs of the Zora domain, snacking on some of the treats the Zora Domain had to offer as he went. Prince Sidon had summoned him, and he was looking forward to a hangout. It had been a whole day since they’d talked, as Sidon was very busy being a prince yesterday.

 

        When he made it to the floor of the prince’s room, he saw his doors were open and there were three very fancy looking Zoras standing in his doorway, arguing a bit. One of them was that short and very pretty black-backed Zora he’d seen a few days ago, but now she was adorned in pretty Zora-noble decorations. The others were tall, one was a redbacked female that was almost as bright as Sidon and the other was bluebacked male.

 

        “Okay, hang on now,” Link could hear Sidon saying from inside the room.

 

        They paused their bickering to look over at him, dawning sweet-faced masks just for him.

 

        “I… err, I don’t understand what’s going on? Can you slow down and explain the predicament to me?” He sounded unusually stressed.

 

        Link approached quietly, forgetting that it was rude to eavesdrop in the trifles of nobles and mostly just curious about what he was witnessing. He already had a bit of an idea though… he recognized all three of these Zora Nobility as suitors for the prince, although there were a few more that weren’t present.

 

        “Resmo is spreading rumors about me to disqualify me from courting you,” the tall redbacked girl hissed through her sharp teeth, although she kept a very forced smile and was batting her eyes while she spoke. “They are not at all true, and I would like for you to consider kicking Resmo out of this for the insult.”

        

        The male huffed, eyes half-lidded in weariness from this whole situation. “Listen my prince, they are NOT rumors. Eemda is definitely snagging valuables from your castle and home and then fencing them. A lot of us are also pretty sure she’s got a fake identity and is not truly a Zora noble at all, but is merely posing as one. Also, Ciphe here saw her fence your mother’s bracelets, tell him Ciphe.”

 

        But instead Ciphe, the shortest Zora whom Link found cute, was looking at Link, who was still chewing on his food awkwardly. “Hello Champion,” she said with no malice and no fakey sugaring. She looked back up at the other suitors and said, “Maybe we should come back another time.”

 

        “Why?!” Eemda, the tall girl practically shrieked down at her.

 

        “Our prince is obviously stressed by this situation,” Ciphe replied, and Link peered around them all to see that Sidon was fidgeting a bit, rubbing forearms and knuckles, and seemed to be unable to train his eyes on anything as they kept darting all over the place. “We should not further discomfort him. On top of that, the champion has arrived.”

 

        “Oh, good idea,” Resmo commended, but reached over for the prince’s hand before doing anything else.

 

        Sidon didn’t seem to notice Resmo asking for anything, as he was staring at Link and beginning to smile and was calming down a lot. “It is so good to see you,” he mumbled much more quietly than he did usually.

 

        When Sidon didn’t give Resmo his hand and Eemda spotted what her rival was up to, both she and he initiated a race. They each quickly grabbing one of Sidon’s hands and planting a kiss on the back. The Prince jumped and pulled his hands away quickly, but both tall suitors were already retreating, glaring at each other.

 

        Ciphe rolled her eyes with a sigh and gave Link a little bow before she followed them away.

 

 _What in the Goddess’s name was that awkward as hell situation???_ Link was failing to process it. He blinked after them for a moment then looked back over at Sidon. The next thing Link knew he was being practically _yanked_ into Sidon’s room and the door was closed very quickly! Zora doors barely ever made a noise when they shut, but this would have slammed if they did!

 

        Link teetered into the very large luxurious bedroom and only regained his balance by grabbing onto one of the beams of Sidon’s bed. And good thing he did because otherwise he would have fallen into Sidon’s glowing pool. He glanced back. There were seaweed chairs and tables floating on the water’s surface. How fancy. Beyond that, there entire far wall was nothing but one great big archway to a white-marble balcony that overlooked the water and clear drapes blowing gently inward. There was a light drizzle, but if it weren’t so overcast the sun would have been setting.

 

        He looked back over and saw Sidon still rubbing his hands and shaking his head with his eyes scrunched closed. “Ugh,” was all he offered once he was done shaking everything out. Or maybe not, as he then began to shake out his hands.

 

        “...I like Ciphe?” Link offered uselessly.

 

        “Yes, I like her too. Not in _that way_ though,” Sidon replied a bit numbly and without any of his usual cadence. He continued to readjust to normalcy by babbling flatly, “Ciphe is like me and doesn’t want to be in this situation either. She’s being forced to take this opportunity to be the queen by her parents. There are a couple like that… Me included, I guess...”

 

        “Ah.”

 

        There was some awkward stillness and quiet from the both of them. Link really didn’t like anything that could get Sidon worked up like this. He was such a proud and inspiring individual the majority of the time. Link only wanted Sidon to be content all the time, to be happy and proud and pampered and for nothing to ever come around and rub his skin the wrong way. _I wish I could solve all of our problems, not just the monster problem,_ Link thought with a pout. _You deserve so much better than this._

 

        “Nooo matter! Let’s go do something _fun_ today. I have a very special place I would like to show you, my dear friend!” Sidon’s apparent mood had done a one-eighty and he was grinning wide. Link really loved how quickly his demeanor could shift. Of course, he knew Sidon was still a little frazzled on the inside but he would be perfectly happy for real in a minute.

 

        His big red hand closed around Link’s tiny one and Sidon led him back out of the room.

 

* * *

 

 

 

        “I wonder how long this will occupy your interest,” the prince mused aloud, glancing back at Link every few moment to check if Link still looked excited.

 

        The little Hylian did. Sidon had noted that Link’s way of expressing excitement, unlike Sidon’s own boisterous and enthusiastic way, was timid and and quiet, a bit jittery even. His pointed ears lifting just a little bit whenever Sidon spoke to him and his eyes were so bright.

 

 _Charming little thing,_ Sidon thought as he led Link along. _I really should be taking notes. I bet he could endear a foreign leader into obliging with any request._

 

        They were treading through some dark corridors caves below the land nearest to the Zora domain. Sidon used to come here all the time when he wasn’t so busy. It was a fun and secret place that the Zora people often came to with friends… or dates.

 

 _Dates…_ Sidon frowned a little. A few of his suitors were trying to get him to come here with them, actually. He kept declining their invitations. As fun as this place was, it would be _no_ fun with someone who was trying to win his affection for other purposes besides simply liking him. And, even if they did simply like him, like he knew a few suitors did, the whole nature of courtship was so forced and stressful that Sidon could barely think in any of their presence.

 

 _Yes but I’m not here with them, I’m here with my friend, someone I love to spend time with and who I think likes spending time with me,_ Sidon reminded himself with another glance back at Link. _This will be very fun!_

 

        The corridor they were treading along was was flooded, but this was normal. The water went up to Sidon’s shins and Link’s waist, so the Zora had to move much slower to wait for Link. There were glowing blue lanterns hanging from the ceilings, proving that despite these corridors being very old, they were still maintained and safe.

 

        “This just seems like something you, a valiant hero type, would have a lot of fun with, but at the same time _I don’t know_ …” Sidon continued. “Hylians are just so _small_ , and while their bones are a stronger than ours, your skin is nowhere near as thick so I hope it doesn’t somehow cut you up. But I trust your skin because it’s protected you well through all of those battles you’ve won. Regardless, I believe the majority of the danger is from impact though so I think you’ll be more than fine even if something goes wrong.”

 

        “Woah, what are we doing?!” Link practically yelled and Sidon looked back at him and laughed. Link’s ears had sunken again and his eyes were wide. He looked a bit betrayed. “Are we going to some kind of a pulverizer for fun?!”

 

        “Yes, exactly!”

 

        Link’s jaw dropped, but then his eyes slid off to the side and he made a face that was obviously considering a new take on it. He even nodded a little as a tiny smile touched the corners of his mouth and his ears and cheeks reddened.

 

 _He’s thinking very deeply about something now,_ Sidon thought in awe. He had yet to make a comment on it, but he’d recently figured it out. Specifically, he figured it out when he looked up what the reddening of a Hylian’s cheeks meant and then payed more attention to the scenarios that caused Link’s cheeks to redden. Deep thinking. Profound thoughts. Wisdom beyond comprehension. Which made perfect to Sidon sense that they got that way when Hylians were drunk too. Zoras acted quite dumb when drunk but maybe alcohol dimmed all the senses of a Hylian but the ability to think deeply and discover unknown truths.

 

        When Link wrinkled his nose and shook his head, probably unsure what to do with his new wisdom, Sidon called back, “What’s the matter Link?”

 

        “Waterbug landed on my face.”

 

_Ah what a smooth liar. If I hadn’t researched blushing, I would have been convinced._

 

        Finally they came upon a beautiful, well-lit room and Sidon heard Link gasp quietly.

 

        It was a big stone room with an open ceiling that revealed that the room was positioned at the very bottom of a great big ravine! And likely because the room could receive light during the day, there were many beautiful plants growing from the stone, and moss growing on almost every surface. The room was equally as flooded as the corridor that lead to it so water lilies were everywhere. At the back of the room was the main attraction: large geysers!

 

        Link’s puzzled expression told Sidon that he didn’t understand, so he offered, “They’re much gentler than they look, and also they are warm, but more like lukewarm. You can safely wait where one is about to shoot and it will throw you up in the air!”

 

        Link gave Sidon a look when he said “safely” so as soon as Sidon was done talking he dashed across the room and jumped over one of the bubbling areas where a geyser was due to shoot. It blew up under him, slamming a powerful force against his torso and sending him up into the air. Yes, it hurt a bit but it was incredibly fun! The real struggle was staying balanced up there!

 

        He _did_ end up tottering off and landing on his bum beside the geyser, but was unhurt. He smiled wide and gace Link a thumbs up. Come on, try it!

 

        That seemed to be all the little Hylian needed as far as encouragement. His eyes were lit like the stars up with excitement over the challenge, the need to do it himself. It was a very adorable sight ot see Link running towards a geyser and leaping into one that was already spewing. He spun as he was thrown up and he released a choke of pain--the worry that gripped Sidon upon hearing it was incomparable--and then a laugh. The laugh eliminated that worry. Link's laughs were like song. They were light and sweet and infectious.

 

        They spent much longer than Sidon expected them too being raised up on the geysers together. Sidon really loved to see his friend’s face cracking up with laughter and to see his pretty hair get wet and change color completely. They often held onto each other’s forearms while they were being pushed into the air by the jets of water.

 

        Sidon really really loved this… Of anyone in all of the Zora domain, he felt Link was the best person to spend time with. And making Link happy was the best feeling in the world. A champion and the chosen hero of Hyrule surely wasn't given many opportunities to just laugh and enjoy themself. As soon as this monster was taken care of, Sidon wanted to dedicate their every minute together to helping Link have fun and enjoy himself.

 

* * *

 

 

 

        Link’s heart was beating just so fast. And he was very busy attempting to do something he had never done before, even though his whole body was screaming for him to rest. Those geysers _really_ hurt after awhile!

 

        When he and Sidon were all worn out, they had retreated from the geysers to float belly-up in the shallow water, regaining their stamina. Or at least Sidon was successfully doing that, the floating belly-up thing. Link, meanwhile just a few feet away, was still trying his best and disturbing the water in the process.

 

 _Okay, I know Hylians can do this,_ Link thought, glancing over at Sidon a few times as he struggled to float like him. _That’s not just a Zora thing…_

 

        Sidon had one eye closed but the other was looking lazily at Link.

 

        Having Sidon’s eyes… eye on Link made him want to go “eep!” _.... Why?_ In response to Siden's look, Link looked directly forward, up at the sky in his embarrassment. By doing that, he accidentally figured out how to float!   _Oh, hah, nice. But back to this weird feeling..??_

 

        Maybe the geysers had hurt him somehow. Or maybe he was having a heart attack. And also a tingly-belly attack. Yes, his stomach was also doing strange flips. He didn’t think he was going to vomit though, it felt kind of nice, whatever it was. Butterflies...

 

        “You figured out how to float. I knew you could do it, but wow, so fast. Clever, clever Hylian,” Sidon hummed tiredly.

 

        Link’s heart pounded so loud he could hear it right in his ears and it almost deafened him to Sidon’s praise, but somehow it also amplified it. His voice was so stirring but also so calming... Why was that?

 

        Link’s eyes widened. _Is this because of Sidon?_ He looked over at the Zora, who was floating gracefully. He no longer had either eye open, resting peacefully with a very pleased and gentle smile. His arms were folded behind his shark-tail head and lily pads bobbed slightly around him. Everything in this room really complimented Sidon’s vibrant colors and reminded Link--as everything seemed to every few minutes--how attractive Sidon was. And how kind and fun and perfect he was…

 

        While staring at him, it struck Link and he willingly sunk back down into the water. He let the water slide over his head until he was submerged completely, his thoughts also sinking deeper. He had a crush? He had romantic feelings for _Prince Sidon_ of the Zoras...

 

        His bum touched the mossy pool floor first and eventually he was laying flat, down there, a whole five or so feet below the surface and being danced on by the reflecting light. _Okay. So. I get crushes every once in awhile, right? Errr.. Hm._ He was attracted to people physically every once in awhile, yes. He thought Sidon was cute right off the bat! But he couldn't really think of times when he'd felt like _this_ before. There weren't any he _remembered_ anyways. Maybe he'd never had a crush before.

 

        He stared up at the light dancing off the water’s surface and the lilypad stems. And then over at Sidon floating around above him. The sound of his rapid heartbeat got louder as he stared, mixing perfectly with the sound of water moving against his eardrums.

 

 _Goddess help me, a huge dummy for taking so long to realize._ Then something else hit him _… I'm almost certain that I can’t even pursue these feelings..._

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> MORE. ON. THE. WAY!! B)
> 
> Also what kind of thing do you think Link was thinking when Sidon observed him blushing?
> 
> Fun fact: that scene was written in Link's POV first but I switched it up to keep things entertaining! So... there is actually a correct answer, Link was thinking A THING. I'll only tell if people guess first though. Who knows, maybe someone will guess right! :D


End file.
